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House Passes 'Raise the Wage' Act

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The Raise the Wage Act, which passed the House on Thursday, would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025. The bill now moves to the Senate. Over at Inside Sources, I point out some reasons why the tradeoffs would outweigh the benefits:

Workers are paid more than just wages; they often receive non-wage compensation such as employee discounts, free meals or parking, flexible hours, insurance, tuition assistance and more. One way employers can find a way to afford government-mandated higher wages is to cut this non-wage pay. Some workers might see a higher paycheck, but they wouldn’t necessarily be better paid. They would also have less flexibility in how they are paid.

See also the Competitive Enterprise Institute press statement from Trey Kovacs and me. As the Senate mulls the bill, conservatives and progressives should be more mindful of the tradeoffs a minimum wage increase would impose on workers.